Chapter Sixty-Nine

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“Hey girls, hey Dreamer,” Charlotte says as she meets you and Abigail and Daphne in the corridor. Class finished some minutes ago, so you got to drop all of your culty activities for a few minutes and rejoin Abigail.

She had asked you how things went, and when you told her that you had done good and then taken a nap she was so proud that she gave you a pat. Doing good things really did give good rewards!

“You’re excited to see us,” Daphne says to Charlotte.

The taller girl shrugs, her smile still firmly in place. “You know what they say. Distance makes the heart grow fonder.”

You blink at this and try to process it. Does being far from something actually make that thing better? No, of course not. She must mean that being seperated from something for some time makes rejoining it much better. That kind of makes sense.

Abigail has been going on about something called the ‘Scientific method’ whereby any new idea needs to be tested, even if it makes sense; and this idea is easily testable.

Over on your real body, you spawn a tiny you in a pretty dress. This new you looks around and stares for a bit before looking at your real body. “What was I made for?” you ask.

“You’re going to get pats from Abigail.”

“Aww, yeah! Pats!” The new you says.

“But first, I’m going to throw you as far away as I can, so you’ll only get the pats in a few thousand years.” Your big body says.

The new you slumps. “But I want the pats now.”

“Yes. But this way we'll see if pats gotten after being distant are better.”

“Oh,” the new you says a moment before being flung out into the wider galaxy at a speed that makes light look lazy and slow.

“Dreamer?”

You blink your small body’s eyes (the one with Abigail and the girls, not the one screaming in happiness as it crashes through a sun two solar systems away) and refocus on the world around you. Abigail and the others have moved over to the cafeteria and are all gathering around a table near the back. “Yes?” I ask.

“We didn’t bring lunch,” Abigail says. “I’m going to get something. Is there anything in particular you want?”

You look over the throngs of students and towards the line where some older lady is handing out trays with plates full of food. “Lots,” you say.

Abigail sighs. “Of course. Stay with Daphne and Charlotte, okay? Daphne’s in charge while I’m gone.”

“Quite the vote of confidence there,” Charlotte says before snorting. “Go on, we’ll keep an eye on your little monster.”

Abigail nods and walks off to get food.

Usually you’d be saddened by the development, but this is an opportunity! Carefully shifting your floofy skirts so that they’re placed just right, you sit down on the wooden bench to one side of the cafeteria table and look at your friends.

“So,” you begin. Both of them look at you, Charlotte with a grin and Daphne as if you’re about to steal her lunch. “I started a cult this morning. It’s really cool. Do you wanna join?”

Charlotte laughs and Daphne places her hands over her face. “You’re kidding, right?” Daphne asks.

“No. I started a cult about Abigail being cool.”

“Did you get any members in your little cult?” Charlotte asks as she opens up her purse and pulls out some paper-wrapped food. Mostly sandwiches, but also a screw-top bottle filled with what you suspect is the juice you made the night before.

“Yes. All the familiars I could find. They’ll bring food sacrifices to the altars I’m putting up around the academy and the city.”

Daphne makes a weird strangled noise. “You...”

“Yes?”

“Do you have any idea how illegal cults are?”

“No. Do you want to join?”

“No!” Daphne says.

Charlotte shakes her head. “C’mon Daphne, think about it for a moment. If you’re not going to join, then who’s going to lead Dreamer’s little cult?”

“I will,” you say. That part was obvious, wasn’t it?

Charlotte points at you with a triangular-cut sandwich. “See. If you leave Dreamer to her own devices, who knows what she’ll do with her little cult.”

“It’s Abigail’s cult, actually,” you say.

“Does... does Abi know about this?” Daphne asks.

“No, not yet. I want it to be big and cool before she learns about it.”

“A fait accompli,” Charlotte says. She chomps on her sandwich, chews a bit, then swallows. “What do I get if I join?”

“Um,” You say. “Well, I was gonna make it so that we all get a meeting at night while sleeping, which is always fun. But you’re Abigail’s friends, so you should get more than just that... what sorts of things do cults give members?” you ask Daphne. She seems to know a lot about this sort of thing.

“I think cults are more about taking from their members than giving,” Daphne says. “This is a terrible idea. The Inquisition will be all over your little cult.”

You frown. “If they bother Abigail I’ll tentacle them.”

“I don’t know, it sounds kind of fun. Could the cult organize picnics and little outings?” Charlotte asks.

You’re so glad that you’re telling your friends. They already have such good ideas. “We can do that, yes.”

“You should have better rewards for people that give more, or who are closer to Abigail. Like cool toys like the whip you gave me for some people, and maybe more power. Can you manage immortality or something like it?”

“Charlotte!” Daphne gasps.

“Yeah, sure,” you say. “That’s easy enough.”

Charlotte grins over to Daphne. “See. Now you get to spend forever with your Abigail.”

You blink. That was wrong, Abigail isn’t Daphne’s, she’s Abigail’s.

Daphne sputters a bit, her cheeks going very red. “F-fine. There should be at least one mature person at the top of this organization and I seem to be the only one to fit the bill here.”

“What bill?” Abigail asks. She’s carrying two trays balanced against her hips. This is why she needs tentacles, so that she can carry more food.

“Nevermind that,” Daphne says. “There’s a meeting of the gardening club this afternoon, I was... did you want to come?”

Abigail spends the time you eat sputtering and blushing and being very strange, but it’s okay because that means you get more leftovers.